Environmental Illness
"Investigators with expertise in both health effects and environmental exposure conditions are essential in addressing salient health issues in a timely fashion, thus avoiding unnecessary investigations and risk."
- Field Guide for the Determination of Biological Contaminants in Environmental Samples, 2nd edition
The chemicals, allergens, pollutants and other common health hazards found in our indoor environments can sometimes make us sick. Not everyone is susceptible to these hazards; infants, the elderly and immune-compromised individuals are usually the first ones affected. For others, including healthy individuals, it can take months or years for an underlying issue to cause the body to start reacting, often violently (this is exactly what happened to ESG's Craig Whittaker). Often, symptoms such as headaches or rashes randomly appear, while sometimes they form an identifiable pattern. An example of the latter is when a young traveling salesperson told us that he never experienced symptoms during the week - only when he was home on weekends.
One of the many challenges faced by individuals who experience unexplained symptoms is finding a medical professional who knows how to properly diagnose and treat what may be an environmental illness. We have found that very few doctors know how to help someone who claims to have symptoms that may not be readily observable in the doctor's office. Like the automobile issue that suddenly seems to stop when the car is at the shop, the person who has a legitimate illness that is not 'active' at the medical appointment is often sent home without a satisfactory answer. Many people are even led to believe that their symptoms are imaginary or psychogenic, even though recent research proves that chemicals, not psychology, are responisble for MCS and other environmental illness.
ESG works as part of a team that can include the client, physician, nutritionist and environmental investigator. ESG's Craig Whittaker has assessed dozens of properties for environmentally-sensitive clients and understands the complex interactions of chemicals, gases and microbial materials in the indoor environment. Dr. Whittaker can turn to the building scientists at ESG for additional guidance as needed to help determine the most likely causative agents.
Craig Whittaker is North Carolina's only hygienist-member of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine.
